Egypt court overturns Mubarak jail sentence for graft

A file picture taken on November 29, 2014, Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak (R) and his son Gamal sit behind bars during a court hearing in the capital Cairo.

CAIRO - An Egyptian court on Tuesday overturned a three-year prison sentence against ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak on corruption charges and ordered a retrial in the sole case still pending against him.

In November, another court had dropped murder charges against the 86-year-old former leader over the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his three decades of autocratic rule.

A lower court had handed down the jail sentence against Mubarak in May last year after convicting him of embezzling more than 100,000 Egyptian pounds (about $14 million, 10 million euros) earmarked for the maintenance of presidential palaces.

It had also handed down four-year jail sentences against the toppled leader's sons, Alaa and Gamal.

The Court of Cassation did not specify whether Mubarak was a free man following its judgement.

But his lawyer Farid al-Deeb told AFP that his client ought to go free as he "has already served" three years in prison.